Bauhaus Beach House in Maine

This midcentury modern waterfront home in Brooklin, Maine, has been in Spencer Smith’s family for 26 years, since his parents Harrison and Marlis Smith, bought the property in 1987, according to the Hancock County Register of Deeds. Built in 1948, the home embodies many of the architectural hallmarks of the Bauhaus style. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

Mr. Smith, 65 years old, owns the property with his siblings. He recalls how his parents, who grew up in Colonial-style homes on the East Coast, became enamored—one more than the other—with the home’s design. “My mother looked at it and said, ‘Oh my God, what is this, it’s so radical.’ But my father said, ‘no, it’s going to be great—it’s the perfect house for us to retire in,’ ” he said. Eventually, his mother took to the design, too, he said. ‘They loved it here.’ Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

The 6.6-acre property overlooks Naskeag Harbor on Penobscot Bay. It includes a roughly 24-foot dock. The town of Brooklin is a haven for wooden boat aficionados, Mr. Smith said, and is known as the longtime home of E.B. White, the author of the children’s classic ‘Charlotte’s Web.’ Mr. Smith is the president and publisher of Northeast Flavor, a regional food and wine magazine. He is also a book publisher. Photo: Spencer Smith

The 3,000-square-foot home is built on a single-floor layout, which makes the home amenable to entertaining large groups, Mr. Smith said. ‘Essentially, when all the kids are running around, they can stay in their end of the house,’ he said. Mr. Smith and his siblings took ownership of the house after their mother died and now use the property as a summer home. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the water and landscape. ‘Really little has changed since…it was built,’ Mr. Smith said, noting that his parents made very few changes to the interior of the home. The home includes two wood-burning fireplaces. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

The home was designed by the Architects’ Collaborative, according to a 1949 profile in House and Garden magazine. The collaborative, or TAC, as it was known, was formed in 1945 by German architect Walter Gropius, according to Wendy Hubbard, site manager for the Gropius House in Lincoln, Mass. Gropius is considered the father of the Bauhaus style, which emphasized functional design, and became a major influence on modernist architecture. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

The home includes three bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. Mr. Smith and his siblings are selling the home because they have other properties in the area, although they plan to retain two guesthouses on the property and partial ownership of the dock. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

Bauhaus design ‘revolutionized the architectural market in the United States,’ said Matthew Berkley, a real-estate agent with ArchitectureforSale.com, which is helping to market the property. Some telltale elements of Bauhaus design is the rectilinear, boxy construction, and a movement away from ornamentation, opting instead for more organic materials. There is also an emphasis on expanses of glass. Photo: Spencer Smith

The main home and partial ownership of the dock is included in the sale. Mr. Smith and his siblings plan to retain the rights to use the dock as part of the agreement. The home includes more than 430 feet of deep-water frontage, according to the listing. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

The roof, which dips in the shape of a V, was designed to help regulate the temperature in the home year-round, he said. Photo: William Altman and Julia Lair

The home was listed in August 2012 for $2.2 million with Martha Dischinger of Downeast Properties in Blue Hill, Maine. Photo: Spencer Smith